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Lakers beat Spurs in first game after Kobe Bryant's injury

LOS ANGELES – Somewhere, Kobe Bryant was smiling. In the first game without their star whose season was ended with an Achilles tendon tear on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers kept their playoff push alive with a

In the first game without their star whose season was ended with an Achilles tendon tear on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers kept their playoff push alive with a 91-88 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers, whose finale is a home game against Houston on Wednesday, are now 1 ½ games ahead of the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Jazz, who hold the tiebreaker between the teams, play at Minnesota on Monday and at Memphis on Wednesday.

If the Jazz lose against the Timberwolves, the Lakers would be in the playoffs. If the Jazz beat the Timberwolves, then it would take either a Lakers win against the Rockets or a Jazz loss against the Grizzlies to put them in the playoffs. The Lakers played for the seventh consecutive game without point guard Steve Nash (hip and hamstring soreness), but may have him back on Wednesday.

The Lakers' win wasn't pretty, as they shot just 36.5% from the field and the Spurs were an equally-ugly 37.8%. Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who has been playing at a very high level of late, was a woeful 3 of 17 from the field while guard Darius Morris – who played only because of Bryant's absence – was just one of six.

But Lakers center Dwight Howard, who suddenly found himself even more front and center than before because of the huge void left by Bryant that so many expect him to fill, finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds. Point guard Steve Blake, who one Lakers fan deemed the Blake Mamba on Twitter during the action, had 23 points on eight of 16 shooting – 18 of them coming in the first half.

Bryant let his feelings known via Twitter, where he wrote, "Whew!! Well done my dudes. Well done. UNO MAS! #playoffs"

Of Howard's performance, Bryant wrote, "D12 was a beast. He stopped by the hospital twice yesterday to check on big bro that's luv #countonD12"

"We know the job at hand and they're looking forward to the challenge," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Dwight stepped way up. It's a good locker room in the sense (that) they know it is going to be tough. They know how hard it is (to finish the playoff push) and and we've done half the work. We have one more to go with Houston, and then we'll see what happens."

The Spurs, who now trail Oklahoma City by a game for the top spot in the Western Conference, pushed the Lakers until the end, in large part, because Tim Duncan keeps forgetting that 36-year-old big men simply don't play this way. He finished with 23 points (11 of 22 shooting) and 10 rebounds, with 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter. He didn't get much help, though, as Tony Parker was just one of 10 from the field while small forward Kawhi Leonard was one of five.

"(Duncan) was really the only guy on the team that played like somebody who wanted to win a championship," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought other than that, the group was in float (mode) most of the night. Again, a lot of that was because (of) the Lakers' energy. It started out with Blake and it just permeated their whole group. I thought they were wonderful in that sense."

The playoff push remains important for the Lakers, even if those hopes of a championship that Howard continues to talk about seem so far-fetched. This is the groundwork that's being laid for their future, specifically the one that is likely to include Howard.

As reported by USA TODAY Sports on Sunday, confidantes of Howard's say it's likely he'll re-sign as a free agent this summer. Still, it's no secret that he has had issues with D'Antoni's offense this season when Bryant was firing away and it was even more unbalanced than normal. As such, it would behoove the Lakers to not leave him feeling as if it's even remotely possible that he could get lost in this shuffle now that Bryant is gone.

That wasn't a problem early, as Howard had 10 points on four of seven shooting in the first quarter to go with five rebounds as the Lakers led 23-22. But he took just one shot in the second quarter while Gasol's roughest of nights unfolded. He missed all seven of his shots in the period, but Blake's heat check continued – five of eight shooting, four of four from three-point range for 14 points in the period – as it was tied 43-43 at the half.

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It's over. The 2012-13 Lakers scrapped to make the playoffs, but were swept when they got there by the Spurs. Here's a look at everything that went wrong for them throughout the season.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

Aug. 10: The Lakers introduced Dwight Howard after a blockbuster four-team trade. The additions of Howard and Steve Nash led to expectations of a championship, setting up the disappointment of the season.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

October: The Lakers went 0-8 in the preseason as Dwight Howard missed most of the games while recovering from back surgery. He and Kobe Bryant played together in only one preseason game.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Nov. 12: Phil Jackson, who guided the Lakers to five titles from 2000 through 2010, spoke publicly about his disappointment not to get the job. That only heightened the criticism on D'Antoni. Jackson later discussed with Sports Illustrated his feeling that the Lakers were using Dwight Howard wrong.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

Various: Injuries to the bench haven't helped matters. Center Jordan Hill, right, was off to a promising start before his season was derailed by injury in January. Point guard Steve Blake has missed substantial time.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

Dec. 11, 2012: Lakers legend and Dodgers owner Magic Johnson has been scathing in his comments about the Lakers all season, but he was particularly harsh in a news conference announcing the Dodgers' signing of Zack Greinke. "His system doesn't fit the talent that the Lakers have," Johnson said of coach Mike D'Antoni.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

April 2: Notice anything wrong with this photo? The Lakers retired Shaquille O'Neal's jersey, but they put the number and name on the wrong side of the commemorative jersey.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

April 12: Kobe Bryant was injured three times in a crucial victory against the Warriors, but the last may have cost the Lakers dearly as he went down with what he said was a torn Achilles tendon.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

With, from left in suits, guards Jodie Meeks, Steve Nash and Steve Blake out with injuries for the final two games, the Lakers were swept by the Spurs in the first round.
Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports